misquoting
Getting quotes wrong
Misquoting is repeating someone's words inaccurately, whether through carelessness, faulty memory, or deliberate distortion: The article misquoted the senator, making her sound callous.
Famous figures are frequently misquoted—words get attributed to Einstein, Churchill, or Twain that they never said.
The noun is misquotation.
False or misleading statement
- twistingRotating with distortion
- out-of-contextRemoved from original setting
- misstatementIncorrect assertion of fact
- skewingCausing asymmetrical distortion
slanting · spin · selective · cherry-picking · paraphrase · alteration · misreporting · misinterpretation
Wrong action or decision
- slipMinor error or misstep
- misrememberingInaccurate mental retrieval
- mishearingPerceiving speech incorrectly
- misreadingIncorrect interpretation of text
misattribution · oversight · inaccuracy · blunder · gaffe · flub · typo · misprint
False data spread unintentionally
- disinformationIntentional deceptive falsehoods
- fabricationDeliberately untrue statement
- propagandaBiased information for influence
- lieDeliberate falsehood
falsehood · deception · slander · defamation · libel · smear · dishonesty · malicious
Crediting the wrong source
- apocryphalUnverified and probably untrue
- spuriousFalse though appearing genuine
- unverifiedNot yet proven true
- dubiousOf uncertain reliability
citation · source · original · authenticity · provenance · fact-check · Snopes · debunked
misrepresentation
False or misleading statement
- twistingRotating with distortion
- out-of-contextRemoved from original setting
- misstatementIncorrect assertion of fact
skewing · slanting · spin · selective · cherry-picking · paraphrase · alteration · misreporting · misinterpretation · misconstruction
mistake
Wrong action or decision
- slipMinor error or misstep
- misrememberingInaccurate mental retrieval
- mishearingPerceiving speech incorrectly
misreading · misattribution · oversight · inaccuracy · blunder · gaffe · flub · typo · misprint · erratum
misinformation
False data spread unintentionally
- disinformationIntentional deceptive falsehoods
- fabricationDeliberately untrue statement
- propagandaBiased information for influence
lie · falsehood · deception · slander · defamation · libel · smear · dishonesty · malicious · intentional
misattribution
Crediting the wrong source
- apocryphalUnverified and probably untrue
- spuriousFalse though appearing genuine
- unverifiedNot yet proven true
dubious · citation · source · original · authenticity · provenance · fact-check · Snopes · debunked · viral
- miscommunicationmix-up, mixed signals, confusion, mixed messages, crossed wires
- media ethicsjournalism ethics, media ethics, media bias, journalistic ethics, journalistic integrity
- misinformationmisinformation, disinformation, fake news, falsehoods, hoaxes
- signal problemsbad connection, dead zone, dead zones, dropped calls, no signal